In July, the General Office of the State Council of the People's Republic of China released the executive plan of banning illegally imported waste, which often imposes great hazardous ricks to the country's environment.

The Ministry of Environmental Protection has issued directives to carry out the plan, banning import of waste plastic, unsorted waste paper, textile waste, vanadium slag and 24 categories of solid waste in total.

Shanghai Customs investigated and verified two companies' involvement in smuggling in 5,000 tons of plastic waste and 469.8 tons of waste slag, which might contain a large volume of pollutants, heavy metal pollutants, noxious gas, and corrosive waste water.

The smuggling companies often resort to false declaration to cover up the illegal imports and avoid punishment, according to the Shanghai Customs.